Artist
Hani
Why we feature this artist Hani: a remixer’s ear for the part that moves Hani’s work is concerned with the moment a song becomes a club record. A vocal phrase may need a new rhythmic setting, or an instrumental figure may have to be brought forward until it be…
- From
- Kuwait, United States
- Sound
- House, dance
- Active
- 1993–present
Start with the music
Tracks to explore
The artist, in context
The story of Hani
Why we feature this artist
Hani: a remixer’s ear for the part that moves
Hani’s work is concerned with the moment a song becomes a club record. A vocal phrase may need a new rhythmic setting, or an instrumental figure may have to be brought forward until it becomes the hook. The New York-based producer’s own records and remixes come from that close attention to arrangement.
The producer behind the name
Hani Adnan Al-Bader developed a catalogue which moved between underground house releases and remixes for major pop singers. His professional recording history includes work connected to artists such as Michael Jackson, Deborah Cox and Pink, while his own productions keep a separate place in the club catalogue.
The two kinds of work require related skills. A remix has to recognise what gives the source performance its identity before changing the surroundings. An original track needs a similarly clear centre, even when the hook is only a short vocal or rhythmic gesture.
Baby Wants to Ride
Baby Wants to Ride became one of Hani’s defining late-1990s club records, released through Groovilicious. Its insistent vocal and strong rhythmic framework give it a direct physical purpose, with the arrangement building pressure around a small number of recognisable parts.
The producer has kept the original recording in his own catalogue, including a later remastered release. That continuity makes it easier to distinguish the original Hani track from subsequent reworkings and recordings which share a similar title.
Other names, the same studio
Hani also worked through Soterios Records and aliases including Disconfect. Collaborations with singers such as Andrea Martin and Roland Clark gave the production another set of voices and melodic ideas to work around.
The useful thread is the care taken with a track’s moving parts. A bass figure, a clipped vocal response or the removal of a drum can change the energy without changing the whole song. Hani’s strongest club work makes those decisions feel immediate on the dance floor.
Essential releases
Baby Wants to Ride
The Groovilicious recording became a defining part of the producer’s club catalogue.
Baby Wants to Ride — original remaster
Hani’s own later catalogue preserves the original performance.